C hurch of God Tabernacle in Newark, Ohio I was glad when ...gospeltrumpeter.com/2010.August.pdf · Gospel Trumpet er.com • August 2010. make sure that mine was not small-er than

SOUNDING FORTH THE SEVENTH AND LAST TRUMPET

Vol. 40 August 2010 No. 8

C hurch of G od T abernac le in Newark, O hio

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

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This monthly religious journal is published for the benefit of theChurch of God universally. It is our supreme purpose to reachthe world for Christ through the printed page. Our burden is toreveal the truth of God's Word to al l m ank ind, to expose sinand error, war against apostasy, and to eradicate thelongstanding traditions of men that have no biblicalfoundations.

Brother Roger L. Decker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EditorWorkers Too Numerous to Mention

T H E C HU R CH O F G O D BELIEVES IN :A personal God (John 4:24)A divine Christ (John 1:1, 14)An infallibly inspired Bible (2 Tim. 3:16-17)Salvation from sin (Matt. 1:21)The new birth (John 3:3, 5-7A holy life (Luke 1:73-75; Titus 2:12)Sanctification (1 Thess. 5:23)Unity of God's people (John 17:21, Eph. 4)Divine, physical healing (James 5:14-16)The ordinances (Matt. 28:19-20; John 13; 1 Cor. 11:23, 34)Eternal life (Matt. 25:46; Mark 9:43)The Trinity (1 John 5:7, 8)

SO ME SPIR IT UAL FAC T S

PER T AIN IN G T O T H E C HU R CHJesus organized it (Matt. 16:18)On a good foundation (Eph. 2:20; I Cor. 3:11)Christ governs it (Eph. 1:22-23; Isa. 9:6)God admits members (I Cor. 12:13-18)Sin puts you out of it (Rom. 11:22; Ex. 32:33)The saved only are members (John 15:2-6)Membership is offered to all (Rev. 22:17)Final rewards (Rev. 20:12-15; 21:3-4; 22:14)Bible name of the Church (Acts 20:28; Gal. 1:13; John 17:11)

We reserve the right to edit and/or decline any materialfor any reason. We are not responsible for unsolicitedarticles or items.

CONTENTS

Water Baptism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Especially for Young People.. . . . . 7Dying in Sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8"Ye Blessed of My Father". . . . . . 14These Lewd Follows. . . . . . . . . . . 19My Personal Testimony. . . . . . . . 24Meeting Announcements. . . . . . . 25Spring Camp Meeting Recordings.26Camp Meeting Announcement.. . 27

Vol. 40 August 2010 No. 8

Psalm 145:1-12 reads: "I willextol thee, my God, O king; and Iwill bless thy name for ever andever. Every day will I bless thee;and I will praise thy name forever and ever. Great is the LORD,and greatly to be praised; and hisgreatness is unsearchable. Onegeneration shall praise thy worksto another, and shall declare thymighty acts. I will speak of theglorious honour of thy majesty,and of thy wondrous works. Andmen shall speak of the might ofthy terrible acts: and I will de-clare thy greatness. They shallabundantly utter the memory ofthy great goodness, and shall singof thy righteousness. The LORD isgracious, and full of compassion;slow to anger, and of great mercy.The LORD is good to all: and histender mercies are over all hisworks. All thy works shall praisethee, O LORD; and thy saints shallbless thee. They shall speak of theglory of thy kingdom, and talk ofthy power; To make known to thesons of men his mighty acts, andthe glorious majesty of his king-dom."

We praise the Lord for makingthe Spring Camp Meeting such awonderful meeting! Much spiri-tual help was received. Verse 2states, "Every day will I blessthee." Each passing day gave newopportunities to bless the Lordand tell of His excellent ways.

The meeting was well at-tended. Brother P. T. Granil andBrother Jesus Granil from Philip-pines were with us. We were veryhappy to see them again. Theyexpressed that they enjoyed themeeting very much.

Verse 4 of Psalm 145 declares,"One generation shall praise thyworks to another, and shall de-clare thy mighty acts." The campmeeting is one way for a genera-tion to praise God's works to an-other. The children's program

was held Saturday morning. Thechildren sang several songs thatthey learned in the barn services.The young people's choir sang asong written by Brother ReggieStegmeier about "the best thingI've found in life." We truly thankthe Lord for faithful young peoplewho are giving their hearts andlives to God. They are truly anasset to the Church of God.

Brother Decker felt impressedto use a variety of ministers inthe evening services each night.We rejoiced as many souls founddeliverance. We thank God thatHe is still changing lives andworking miracles today. God usedthe many outstanding messagesin a mighty way. It would be dif-ficult to single out any onemessage among those preached,because they all were so verygood. Brother David Stegmeierfrom Canby, Oregon began themeeting by preaching a messageon instilling an appreciation ofour heritage in our children.Brother Allen Polston preachedan enlightening message entitled"The Movies." Brother DavidStegmeier taught an excellentseven-part series in the afternoonservices on Christian ethics. OnSunday evening Brother LarryDishman finished the meeting byspeaking about the differencebetween "can't" and "don't wantto."

You will find a list of therecorded messages that are avail-able on page 26. If you were un-able to attend, we encourage youto send for these messages. Theywill be an encouragement and adefinite help to your soul.

In closing, we thank God forHis marvelous presence in themeeting. Psalm 145:21 reads, "Mymouth shall speak the praise ofthe LORD: and let all flesh blesshis holy name for ever and ever."

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G ospe lTrum pe ter.com • August 2010 3

Matthew 28:16 Then the elevendisciples went away into Galilee, into amountain where Jesus had appointedthem.

17 And when they saw him, theyworshipped him: but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and spake untothem, saying, All power is given untome in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach allnations, baptizing them in the name ofthe Father, and of the Son, and of theHoly Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all

things whatsoever I have commandedyou: and, lo, I am with you alway, evenunto the end of the world. Amen.

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them[this is precisely the same command],Go ye into all the world, and preach thegospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptizedshall be saved; but he that believeth notshall be damned.

17 And these signs shall followthem that believe; In my name shall theycast out devils; they shall speak withnew tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; andif they drink any deadly thing, it shallnot hurt them; they shall lay hands onthe sick, and they shall recover.

19 So then after the Lord hadspoken unto them, he was received upinto heaven, and sat on the right handof God.

20 And they went forth, andpreached every where, the Lord workingwith them, and confirming the wordwith signs following. Amen.

Brother Roger L. Decker

The Time of Reformation

Water baptism is an ordinanceof the church, but there is muchconfusion concerning this ordinance.As we look into the Scriptures, wemust take the Word of God as thefinal authority on all doctrinal andspiritual matters. The Word of Godis settled, and we cannot change it.Psalm 119:89 says this: "For ever, OLORD, thy word is settled inheaven." Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am

the LORD, I change not; therefore yesons of Jacob are not consumed."

The Word of God is veryexplicit; it is understandable if di-vided properly. If you have a hardtime understanding the Bible, do notquit reading it. I do not know of anyindividuals who can automaticallyunderstand everything that theyread in the Word of God. If you donot understand it, you need to prayand ask the Lord to help you to gainunderstanding. God works by reve-

lation, and through His Holy Spirit,He will give you knowledge andwisdom and understanding of theScriptures.

Second Timothy 2:15 states,"Study to show thyself approvedunto God, a workman that needethnot to be ashamed, rightly dividingthe word of truth." The phrase"rightly dividing" means to divide itright, and it also means to make astraight cut. When I was a child andmy mother cut a cake, I wanted to


make sure that mine was not small-er than my brother's and sister's. Iwanted an equal share. Even thoughI was smaller, I believed that Ishould have received an equalshare.

In the Old Testament there wasa tabernacle, a type of the churchthat Jesus built; it was a shadow ofthe reality. They had ordinancesinstituted by God. Luke 1:5-6 says:"There was in the days of Herod, theking of Judaea, a certain priestnamed Zacharias, of the course ofAbia: and his wife was of the daugh-ters of Aaron, and her name wasElisabeth. And they were both righ-teous before God, walking in all thecommandments and ordinances ofthe Lord blameless." They werewalking in all the light that they hadat that time. This verse of Scripturesays that walking in all the com-mandments and ordinances of theLord, they were blameless.

Hebrews 9:1 reads, "Then verilythe first covenant had also ordi-nances of divine service, and aworldly sanctuary." Dropping downto verses 8-10 we read: "The HolyGhost this signifying, that the wayinto the holiest of all was not yetmade manifest, while as the firsttabernacle was yet standing: Whichwas a figure for the time then pres-ent, in which were offered both giftsand sacrifices, that could not makehim that did the service perfect, aspertaining to the conscience; Whichstood only in meats and drinks, anddivers washings, and carnal ordi-nances, imposed on them until thetime of reformation."

The word reformation means"setting it straight; making thingsanew." It is amazing what you learnwhen you study the Word of God.The phrase carnal ordinances means"regulations of the body; externalrules imposed on them." In otherwords, they had no choice.

We read in Exodus 18:20, "Andthou shalt teach them ordinancesand laws, and shalt show them theway wherein they must walk, andthe work that they must do." Thiswas imposed on them until the time

of reformation. Someone may ques-tion, "Do you think these things areimportant?" I know they are impor-tant or God would not have in-cluded them in His Word. Manypeople do not truly understand wa-ter baptism. Some people think it isa saving ordinance, so I want toclarify that.

Colossians 2:14-17 tells us:"Blotting out the handwriting ofordinances that was against us,which was contrary to us, and tookit out of the way, nailing it to hiscross; And having spoiled principal-ities and powers, he made a show ofthem openly, triumphing over themin it. Let no man therefore judge youin meat, or in drink, or in respect ofan holyday, or of the new moon, orof the sabbath days: Which are ashadow of things to come; but thebody is of Christ."

The time of reformation was atime when God was going to makeall things new, a time when He wasgoing to set things straight. Therewere ordinances, shadows, andtypes, and these things were in ef-fect until the time of the reforma-tion.

Our Example in All Things

Does the New Testament churchhave ordinances? Yes. The Biblestates in 2 Thessalonians 2:15,"Therefore, brethren, stand fast, andhold the traditions which ye havebeen taught, whether by word, orour epistle." We read in 1 Corinthi-ans 11:1-2: "Be ye followers of me,even as I also am of Christ. Now Ipraise you, brethren, that ye remem-ber me in all things, and keep theordinances, as I delivered them toyou." The words "traditions" and"ordinances" used in 1 Corinthiansand in 2 Thessalonians are trans-lated from the same word. An ordi-nance is a direction or command ofan authoritative nature. The author-ity is from the Head of the church.Ephesians 1:22 says, "And hath putall things under his feet, and gavehim to be the head over all things tothe church." The Head commands us

to baptize. You read it in the Book ofMatthew.

Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20:"All power is given unto me in heav-en and in earth. Go ye therefore, andteach all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father, and of theSon, and of the Holy Ghost: Teach-ing them to observe all things what-soever I have commanded you: and,lo, I am with you alway, even untothe end of the world. Amen." Thephrase "Go ye therefore" is a com-mand. Let us see how it is worded inActs 1:1-2: "The former treatise haveI made, O Theophilus, of all thatJesus began both to do and teach,Until the day in which he was takenup, after that he through the HolyGhost had given commandmentsunto the apostles whom he had cho-sen." Christ had the authority, andHe gave the authority. He com-manded it, and He instituted it per-sonally.

Let us see how Jesus wasbaptized. Is He not our example inall things? Let us see if He wassprinkled. We read in Matthew 3:13-17: "Then cometh Jesus from Galileeto Jordan unto John, to be baptizedof him. But John forbad him, saying,I have need to be baptized of thee,and comest thou to me? [Where didthey go? They did not go to John'shouse for a pitcher of water; theywent to the Jordan River wherethere was lots of water.] And Jesusanswering said unto him, Suffer it tobe so now: for thus it becometh us tofulfil all righteousness. Then hesuffered him. And Jesus, when hewas baptized, went up straightwayout of the water [notice that He hadbeen in the water]: and, lo, the heav-ens were opened unto him, and hesaw the Spirit of God descendinglike a dove, and lighting upon him:And lo a voice from heaven, saying,This is my beloved Son, in whom Iam well pleased."

You may ask this question: "If Icommit sin, do I need to be baptizedagain?" If you turn your back onGod and go out into the world, youshould be baptized again. Waterbaptism is an answer of a good con-


science. If you slipped and fell, butyou did not turn away from God,then you should not have to bebaptized again.

Is Water Baptism aSaving Ordinance?

Does water baptism save youfrom sin? No. Just as washing feetdoes not make you humble andpartaking of the Lord's Supper doesnot make you remember Christ,being baptized does not cleanse youfrom sin. To wash feet, you need tobe humble first. To partake of theLord's Supper, there needs to beremembrance first of what Christdid for your soul in delivering youout of sin. To be baptized, first youmust have your sins washed away.Jesus Christ was the Son of Godbefore He went into the water. He isour example. The water did notmake Him a Son of God. Waterbaptism does not make you a son ofGod. According to Ephesians 5:26, itis the "washing of water by theword." It is the Word of God thatcleanses you.

What can wash away sin?Nothing but the blood of Jesus. FirstJohn 1:7 states, "But if we walk inthe light, as he is in the light, wehave fellowship one with another,and the blood of Jesus Christ his Soncleanseth us from all sin." When youare saved, God automatically putsyou into the church, and you auto-matically have unity with the saints.We did not start the unity, becausebefore we were saved we did noteven want to be around church peo-ple. When you are saved, you loveeverybody. Why? The Spirit of Godbrings unity through the blood ofJesus Christ. Your job is to endeavorto keep the unity of the Spirit.

Revelation 1:5 states, "And fromJesus Christ, who is the faithful wit-ness, and the first begotten of thedead, and the prince of the kings ofthe earth. Unto him that loved us,and washed us from our sins in hisown blood." Colossians 1:14 reads,"In whom we have redemptionthrough his blood, even the forgive-

ness of sins." It is always the bloodthat cleanses from sin. Without theblood there is no forgiveness andthere is no cleansing from sin. Theblood is applied by faith. None of usgot literal blood on us. There wouldnot be enough literal blood fromJesus' side to touch everybody, but itis by faith in the blood of JesusChrist that we are cleansed from sin.

Romans 3:25 tells us, "WhomGod hath set forth to be a propitia-tion through faith in his blood, todeclare his righteousness for theremission of sins that are past,through the forbearance of God." Iwant you to notice that this Scrip-ture says "sins that are past." Whenyou go to an altar of prayer or wher-ever you get saved, you are onlysaved from the sins that are past.You need to read the Scripture right.Why? When you are cleaned up,you are not a sinner anymore. Thereis where the Holy Spirit comes in tohelp you walk the strait and narrowway so that you do not have to sinanymore. The blood is for forgive-ness; it washes away every sin whenyou repent; Then you are not guiltyof one sin. You have a clean record.Your record has been expunged.From that moment on, through thepower of the Holy Spirit, Who is aComforter and a Guide, He leadsyou into all Truth, and you walk thestrait and narrow way under Hisdirection.

What else does the blood do? Itpurges your conscience from deadworks—works that are worthless. Itcleans up your conscience, and youhave no more conscience of sins.Hebrews 9:14 reads, "How muchmore shall the blood of Christ, whothrough the eternal Spirit offeredhimself without spot to God, purgeyour conscience from dead works toserve [you must get rid of the deadworks to serve] the living God?"

"The Answer of aGood Conscience"

Does water baptism put youin the church? This is where thecontroversy comes up. The answer

to that question is no. It is by thenew birth and spiritual baptismthat you become a member ofthe church. First Corinthians 12:13states, "For by one Spirit are we allbaptized into one body, whetherwe be Jews or Gentiles, whetherwe be bond or free; and have beenall made to drink into one Spirit."How do you get into the church?Through a spiritual baptism, aspiritual induction.

In Psalm 87:5-6 the Psalmistsaid: "And of Zion it shall be said,This and that man was born in her:and the highest himself shallestablish her. The LORD shall count,when he writeth up the people, thatthis man was born there. Selah." Youare in the body of Christ through thenew birth, through the Spirit of God.

Should people who are savedwant to be baptized? Absolutely.After you get saved, you should bebaptized. First Peter 3:21 says, "Thelike figure whereunto even baptismdoth also now save us (not theputting away of the filth of the flesh,but the answer of a good consciencetoward God,) by the resurrection ofJesus Christ." Water baptism is theanswer of a good conscience. TheHebrew writer said you have a goodconscience through the blood ofJesus Christ. Baptism does not giveyou a good conscience, but it is theanswer of a good conscience. It is theblood that gives you the goodconscience.

Water baptism does not makeyou a member of God's church.Sometimes people get saved andwant to get baptized immediatelywhen they have not truly sold out.Now, God is working with them.Before you are baptized, you shouldmake sure that you are walking inthe strait and narrow way. You needto make sure that you have trulycounted the cost. There is a cost tobeing saved, and there is a cost afterthat too. We do not have a baptismalservice just to put people in thewater.

Water baptism should not beadministered to babies. There is areason for that. Mark 16:16 says, "He


that believeth and is baptized shallbe saved; but he that believeth notshall be damned." Babies neitherbelieve nor disbelieve; they do notunderstand. The Bible does not saythat babies should be baptized oreven sprinkled. Speaking of theeunuch, when he desired to bebaptized, Philip said in Acts 8:37, "Ifthou believest with all thine heart,thou mayest." The eunuch replied, "Ibelieve that Jesus Christ is the Son ofGod."

We do not baptize infants. Now,some children come to an age ofaccountability sooner than others,depending on how they are raised.However, after a small child goes toan altar of prayer, I believe youshould let him walk a little while tosee if he understands the strait andnarrow way.

Although some parents maywant their little child to be baptizedright away after the child moves toan altar of prayer, I believe theyshould wait until the child gains anunderstanding of what salvation is.Some people hang their salvation onthe fact that they were baptized assmall children when often they donot even remember it. We need to becareful and make sure that the childis living right and make sure that hebelieves with all his heart, just as theeunuch did, and truly understandswhat salvation is all about.

How Should One Be Baptized?

One should be immersedcompletely to be baptized, notsprinkled or have water poured onhim. Being sprinkled with water orhaving water poured on the head isnot scriptural baptism. Scripturalbaptism is being immersed. In otherwords, you go under the water com-pletely. Your entire body gets wet.In Matthew 3:16 we read, "And Je-sus, when he was baptized, went upstraightway out of the water: and,lo, the heavens were opened untohim, and he saw the Spirit of Goddescending like a dove, and lightingupon him."

Mark 1:9-10 states: "And it came

to pass in those days, that Jesuscame from Nazareth of Galilee,and was baptized of John in Jordan.And straightway coming up out ofthe water, he saw the heavensopened, and the Spirit like a dovedescending upon him."

The Word of God is very expliciton these things. Acts 8:36-39 reads:"And as they went on their way,they came unto a certain water: andthe eunuch said, See, here is water;what doth hinder me to be bap-tized? [He was not talking about abasin of water. He did not say, 'Hereis a canteen full of water' or 'Here isa basin of water.' Notice that it wasenough water for both of them to getinto. Read carefully what he said.]And Philip said, If thou believestwith all thine heart, thou mayest.And he answered and said, I believethat Jesus Christ is the Son of God.And he commanded the chariot tostand still: and they went down bothinto the water, both Philip and theeunuch; and he baptized him. Andwhen they were come up out of thewater, the Spirit of the Lord caughtaway Philip, that the eunuch sawhim no more: and he went on hisway rejoicing."

What Is the Standardfor Water Baptism?

Water baptism represents thedeath, burial, and resurrection ofJesus Christ. What is the formula?The word baptism, when referring towater baptism, comes from the wordbaptisio, which means "immersion."Matthew 28:19 commands, "Go yetherefore, and teach all nations,baptizing them in the name of theFather, and of the Son, and of theHoly Ghost." Why do we baptize inthe name of all three? There is aTrinity, and all three had part inyour salvation. First of all, yousinned against God. All sin isagainst God the Father. Second, youhad to go through Jesus Christ; Hewas the atonement. Third, the HolySpirit troubled your heart, and youcame to God through the HolySpirit. No one came through the

Father.What is the standard for water

baptism? One who has been bornagain and is living a life free fromsin is a candidate for water baptism.Someone may say, "I'm not livingfree from sin." Then you are notsaved, and you are not a candidatefor water baptism. Jesus came tosave you from sin. If we had to con-tinue in sin, then Jesus would havedied in vain. Why? Because theyhad sacrifices in the Old Testamentthat atoned for sin. The High Priestonly had to come once a year. (Thatis better than confessing sin everynight.) We could have stayed underthe old Law. Jesus Christ is the sacri-fice for sin, and we can have fellow-ship with Him through the bloodafter being born of the Spirit of God.God can keep you from sin aroundthe clock. We are not boasting inourselves; it is in God that we boast.We give God the glory.

When you are baptized, theminister must be a preacher ofholiness. Also, you must be baptizedin the name of the Trinity, not Jesusonly. All three were before thisworld was ever created. Way backin the council hall of God, therewere all three: the Father, the Son,and the Holy Ghost. Christ took onthe body of Jesus, but Christ hasalways existed. Genesis 1:26 says,"Let us make man in our image." Towhom are the pronouns referring inthis verse? God was not talking toHimself. At the tower of Babel, Godsaid, "Let us go down" (Genesis 4:7).Who was He speaking of goingdown? They were the Father, theSon, and the Holy Ghost. Abrahamentertained a couple of angels. Ibelieve that they were the Word(Christ) and the Spirit. There werethree involved there: Abraham wastalking to God, and the two angelswent into Sodom—the Father, theSon, and the Holy Ghost.

We baptize "in the name of theFather, and of the Son, and of theHoly Ghost." Again, we do notbaptize in Jesus' name only, andwater baptism must be total im-mersion to be scriptural. Baptism


If you wouldn't write it and s ign it,

then you shouldn't say it.

was not nailed to the Cross becausethe commission to baptize wasgiven after the Cross and the Resur-rection. Those things that wereagainst us and contrary to us—theanimal sacrifices and the old tem-ple—were nailed to the Cross. Somepeople like to quote Colossians 2:14,which says, "Blotting out the hand-writing of ordinances that wasagainst us, which was contrary tous, and took it out of the way, nail-ing it to his cross."

You must keep in mind thatwater baptism is not against us. It isan outward ordinance of somethingthat has already taken place withinthe heart. Once your heart has beenchanged, then you can go throughthe ordinance of water baptism asan outward sign to other people, asa witness, that you are a child ofGod.

Other ordinances are feet wash-ing and the Lord's Supper. Thechurch has ordinances, and they are

very important. If you are saved andyou are old enough to understandholiness, old enough to know aboutthe strait and narrow way, then youshould go on and be baptized.According to the Scriptures, whenyou are baptized, you should gounder the water completely. Again,water baptism is not a saving ordi-nance, but it is an ordinance forthose who are saved.

(Com pact Disc TR-580E)

On a summer Sunday eveningmany years ago, a young manwalked the streets of London,downcast and weary. He had beenliving a fast life with the usual resultof a tarnished character and anempty purse. He was to sail for NewYork the following morning. AChristian friend who had vainlysought to restrain him in his down-ward course pleaded with him tospend his last night in Englandhearing someone preach.

The church was filled thatevening with an eager crowdbrought together to hear the faithful(but often unusual) preaching of thatearnest man. It might have beencuriosity that led the young manthere, but at any rate he found him-self seated in the congregation. Thepreacher's text was, "We are notignorant of his devices."

After reading it, he abruptlyproceeded: "I was walking along thestreet the other day and saw a droveof pigs following a man. This excitedmy curiosity, because pigs are in-

variably difficult to handle." Hecontinued: "This man seemed tohave no difficultly; the pigs, jostlingand grunting, followed after him aseagerly as possible. I followed on,and to my surprise, I found that theywere going to the slaughter house.They went in, and the door wasclosed behind them. I waited till theman came out and asked him howhe had managed to lead them soeasily. The man laughed and said,'Maybe you did not see the bag ofbeans under my arm. I knew Iwould have a pretty morning's worktaking them there if I didn't humorthem a bit, so I got some beans anddropped them along the road. Yousaw how they scampered alongpicking up the beans, never thinkingthat they were going to their death!

"And this is the way," continuedthe preacher, raising his voice andturning his penetrating glance righton the pew where the young prodi-gal sat, "that the devil is leadingsome of you captives at his willdown to hell. He knows full well

how to please and lead you on. Hedrops his beans right along the road,and very soon for you, the last beanwill be picked up, and then thegates of hell will close behind you."

The young man sat spellbound.The story of the beans with its strik-ing application to the wiles anddevices of the devil in ruining soulsby scattering the world's follies intheir paths, carried the arrow ofconviction to his soul. The next dayhe sailed for New York. Anxiouslyhis friend waited for news of his safearrival, and at last it came. Withjoyful surprise he read the letter.

"I am glad to tell you that I am aconverted man. The words of thatearnest preacher, especially theopening words about the devil'sbeans, arrested and awakened me. Isaw where I was going, how Satanwas luring me on, and what mydoom and destiny must be. By thegrace of God I am saved, to follow abetter Leader and walk in a newpath. I shall always thank God forthat good man's words that arrestedme and for the words of further helpfrom one on board the ship bywhich I was led to the Savior."

Selected

The Bag of Beans


John 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, yecannot come.

8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Brother Larry Dishman

Life's Greatest Tragedy

Beyond a shadow of doubt,Jesus spoke of the worst tragedy thatcould possibly befall a human being,and that is the loss of the soul. It is atragedy not to know the Son of Godas your Savior. Can you think ofanything worse than losing yoursoul and missing Heaven? Jesusspoke of the eternal separation of alost soul from the pure, compassion-ate Savior who died for the sins ofthe whole world. He referred to thatimpassable gulf between Heavenand hell that no soul can cross. Thewords found in verse 21 of ourScripture text are soul searching andtragic words: "I go my way, and yeshall seek me, and shall die in yoursins: whither I go, ye cannot come."

The loss of the human soul isdefinitely life's greatest tragedy.

I want you to notice some thingsabout the people to whom Christwas speaking in our text of Scrip-ture. First, those people were lostdespite their religion. They were notwithout religious form and cere-mony. They were well schooled inthe Mosaic teachings. For manycenturies, their forefathers had beenknown as God's peculiar people.However, like millions, even today,they substituted religion for regen-eration, ritual for righteousness, andhuman tradition for divine com-mandments. They were lost, andthey were blind and prejudiced.They were so steeped in unscrip-tural religion that even Jesus held nohope for them.

Second, they were lost in spite oftheir nearness to Jesus. They came incontact with Him from time to time,and they had heard Him forgive thesins of an adulteress woman. Jesussaid in John 8:11, "Neither do I con-demn thee: go, and sin no more."They heard His offer of eitherHeaven's life or earth's darkness.They heard Him say in verse 12 ofthis same chapter, "I am the light ofthe world: he that followeth meshall not walk in darkness, but shallhave the light of life." Nevertheless,those people refused Him, and evenworse, they sought to stone Him.

The third thing that I want youto notice concerning this Scripturetext is that the people were lostdespite such wonderful access toTruth. Those people were not


Gentiles, to whom the Gospel hadnever been preached. They were notin a nation that was sitting in dark-ness, to whom the Light had nevercome. Friend, they were not livingin a remote land in to whose lan-guage the sweet Gospel story hadnever been translated. They wereGod's favored people. God had spo-ken the Living Word to them, andHe had walked among them. Inspite of all these advantages, theywere still lost.

Jesus said in John 8:32, "Andye shall know the truth, and thetruth shall make you free." Thosepeople despised the Truth just asmany people do today. They re-jected the Light and gambled withtheir souls. Why did those peoplerefuse the Son of God as their Saviorand Friend? Why do millions ofpeople in our generation die in sin,forever cut off from Christ andHeaven? Millions of people have leftthis world unprepared to meet God.

You Must Believe

In our Scripture text Jesus wasclear that if you die in your sins, youcannot go where He is. Why dopeople die in sin? First, I believe thatin some cases it is due to their unbe-lief. That is the case in our Scripturelesson. We read in John 8:45-46:"And because I tell you the truth,ye believe me not. Which of youconvinceth me of sin? And if I saythe truth, why do ye not believeme?" Unbelief is the most horrible,wicked, fatal sin of all. It will blockyou from entering Heaven's door,and it will open the wretched chasmof hell. Unbelief is what droveAdam and Eve from the garden andplunged multitudes beneath thejudgment waters of the flood. It keptIsrael out of Canaan for forty longyears and hindered the fulfillmentof God's wondrous promise to Hispeople.

God's Holy Book teaches us thatan individual is saved by believing.You must believe. This is very clearin Acts 16:30 when the Philippianjailer asked the question, "Sirs, what

must I do to be saved?" In verse 31Paul and Silas answered that ques-tion by saying, "Believe on the LordJesus Christ, and thou shalt besaved." Romans 10:9 reads, "That ifthou shalt confess with thy mouththe Lord Jesus, and shalt believe inthine heart that God hath raised himfrom the dead, thou shalt be saved."Being saved without faith in theglorious person of Jesus Christ isimpossible. We are saved by believ-ing; we are damned by disbelieving.God's Word says in John 3:18, "Hethat believeth on him is not con-demned: but he that believeth not iscondemned already, because hehath not believed in the name of theonly begotten Son of God."

God is omnipotent, but there aresome things that God cannot do andwill not do. For example, God willnot save a man, a woman, a boy, ora girl who refuses to believe thedivine record of this unspeakablegift. Matthew 13:58 tells us, "And hedid not many mighty works therebecause of their unbelief." Jesuscannot perform the mighty work ofregeneration in the human heartuntil there is a willingness in thatheart to believe. We are saved bybelieving, and Satan has many sub-tle maneuvers to keep lost men,women, boys, and girls from believ-ing. It has been said that in one ofMartin Luther's great conflicts withthe devil that Satan asked him if hefelt that his sins were forgiven. Mar-tin Luther said to the devil, "No, Idon't feel that my sins are forgiven,but I know they are because God saidso in His Word."

The Bible does not say, "Believeand feel saved"; it says "Believe andbe saved." I am not saying there arenot feelings in salvation, becausethere are. However, feelings will notalways be there. If you have metGod's conditions and you arewalking in the light of God's EternalWord, you are just as saved whenyou have no feelings as you arewhen your feelings are bubbling up.You can believe and receive, but youmust believe. One of the greatestpromises in the Bible is found in

John 6:37, which states, ". . . him thatcometh to me I will in no wise castout."

Lost soul, look to God todaywith hope and confidence. Some-times people want to be saved, butthey have a fear that they will arisea sinner and that God will not savethem after all. Friend, the Scripturesays ". . . him that cometh to me Iwill in no wise cast out." Christ willnot cast you out if you go to Him.He promised that He would saveyou, and He is no respecter of per-sons. Thank God, He saves the old,the middle-aged, the young, therich, and the poor. Romans 10:13tells us, "For whosoever shall callupon the name of the Lord shall besaved."

The Folly of Procrastination

The second reason that I believethat people die in their sins is due toprocrastination. Throughout theBible God urges the lost soul tomake haste and come to the Savior.Exodus, Chapter 12, speaks of thepassover and expresses the urgencyof eating it. Verse 11 says, ". . . yeshall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'Spassover." The people who were inbondage in that day, in the servi-tude of Egypt, were not to delay.God's provision had been made fortheir escape and deliverance, andthe Lord instructed them to do it inhaste. Friend, that is still the mes-sage today. The way has been madefor you to be saved and go to Heav-en. You can escape the damnation ofhell. You can have your sins for-given, but you must not procrasti-nate. You need to make haste whilethe door of mercy is still open.

Isaiah 1:18 urges, "Come now[not tomorrow or next week], and letus reason together, saith the LORD;though your sins be as scarlet, theyshall be as white as snow; thoughthey be red like crimson, they shallbe as wool." God says, "Come now,"not some time later. Perhaps themost subtle trick the devil has everused is that of procrastination.While God says today, the devil says


tomorrow.Proverbs 27:1 states, "Boast not

thyself of to morrow; for thou know-est not what a day may bring forth."None of us knows what a day maybring forth. We learn from manyScriptures that life offered and con-tinually rejected may bring the judg-ment of God. That is in the Bible.Turning away from God and sayingno to the Holy Spirit is more seriousthan many people believe. Hebrews3:7-8 says: "Wherefore (as the HolyGhost saith, To day if ye will hearhis voice, Harden not your hearts, asin the provocation, in the day oftemptation in the wilderness." Oh,the awful tragedies which havefallen to those who have put offsalvation! They planned to get rightwith God, but they put it off until itwas too late.

In 2 Corinthians 6:2 we read,"Now is the accepted time; behold,now is the day of salvation." Thetime will come when it will no lon-ger be an accepted time with God,and the day of mercy will be closed.Men, women, boys, and girls aregoing to be removed to a placewhere there is no mercy shown,where there is no compassion. To-day is the day of salvation; now isthe appointed time.

In the New Testament you canread that Felix decided to put it offand said, "Go thy way for this time;when I have a convenient season,I will call for thee" (Acts 24:25).As far as we can tell in the Bible,that convenient time never came forFelix. Dear one, the convenientseason is when God is calling foryou. When God is dealing with yourheart, or when you feel that draw-ing, God is letting you know thatnow is the time when you need tomove. If you are lost, you aregambling with your soul. It may notbe a convenient season while youare lying on a hospital bed. Often itis too late then. It may not be aconvenient time if you are in awreck on the highway. Duringtragedy of any kind is not a conve-nient time. Today is the day ofsalvation.

The Urgency of AnsweringGod's Call

I remember a young man whowas in a service many years agowho got under conviction. He wasonly seventeen years of age. TheHoly Spirit came down in a mightyway that night. That young mancould have easily argued with Godand put off his salvation while hewas standing there in that churchservice. He could have said, "God,I'm a young man. I've got my wholelife out before me, and I want to goout and have some fun. I want tofind out what living is all about." Nodoubt, many things could havecome to his mind, but do you knowwhat he did? He listened to God; heobeyed the Holy Spirit, and Godsaved him.

Just thirty-one days from thatday, he was working and got hit inthe chest and knocked back a fewfeet. His co-worker went over to himand asked, "Are you okay?"

He replied: "Yes, just let me getmy breath. I'll be okay in a few min-utes." He did not know that when hegot hit in the chest, it broke the mainartery completely loose from hisheart, and he was dying. Finally,they called an ambulance, but be-fore the ambulance could get there,he was dead. I believe that youngman is shouting the hills of Glorybecause he did not put off his salva-tion.

Many young people do notmake the wise decision that hemade. He made a wise decision theday when he chose to give his heartto God. That day he decided: "I amgoing to get this thing settled. Imight have a lot of time to get rightwith God, but I am not going togamble with my soul any longer. Iam not going to procrastinate."Thank God, he made his way to thealtar of prayer and fully surren-dered to the Lord. How sad it wouldhave been had he gone the otherway! It could happen that way withyou, dear one.

King Agrippa procrastinatedand said, "Almost thou persuadest

me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28).He was almost ready to be saved.Possibly one thing was holding himback. Maybe it was one sin thathe was in love with. It could be thatone sin had wound its frightful coilsaround his life. No doubt, Agrippathought, "One day I am going totake care of this matter and getsaved." As far as we can tell fromthe Word of God, he never hadanother opportunity to get rightwith God.

To be almost persuaded is tobe altogether lost. Being almostpersuaded once in your life willnot cool off hell one degree foryou. I believe that if we couldinterview precious souls in hellright now, almost every one of themwould say: "There was a time inmy life when I came to the cross-roads and had to make a decision.I was almost persuaded to becomea Christian, but I put it off." Life'sgreatest blunder is to put offaccepting Jesus Christ until it is toolate. There is no remedy for thistragedy. Once death overtakes you,this tragedy is fatal; it is final, andit is irrevokable. May God blessthrough the Holy Spirit to help theunsaved to see the urgency of sal-vation and to realize how importantit is to answer when God calls,because when death comes, thereis absolutely no forgiveness forcontinuously resisting the HolyGhost.

The most crucial moment thatyou will ever face on this side ofeternity is when God's Spirit speaksto you. When you feel the gentleknock of the loving Savior at yourheart's door and the wooing of theHoly Spirit, that is the most crucialmoment of your life. I plead withyou, sinner friend, do not turn Himaway.

Grieving the Holy Spirit

Another reason that men diein their sins is that they grieve theHoly Spirit. Many Scriptures tellus that God's sweet Holy Spirit canbe grieved. He can be hurt to the


degree that He no longer pleadsand convicts your soul. Genesis 6:3says, "My spirit shall not alwaysstrive with man." This verse is easilyunderstood. God says that a timewill come when the Holy Spiritwill no longer tolerate unbelief,procrastination, and defianceagainst God.

I believe there comes a timewhen God sets a deadline and says,"This is as far as you can go." An oldsong says: "There's a line that is drawnby rejecting the Lord, Where the call ofHis Spirit is lost. Even now it may bethat the line you have crossed. Have youcounted, Have you counted the cost?"You can cross that line by rejectingthe Lord. The Lord withdrew HisSpirit back in Noah's day. Whatmakes you think that He will notwithdraw His Spirit in our daywhen sinners deliberately close theirears and refuse to respond to theHoly Spirit?

The Bible says in John 16:7-8:"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; Itis expedient for you that I go away:for if I go not away, the Comforterwill not come unto you; but if I de-part, I will send him unto you. Andwhen he is come, he will reprove theworld of sin, and of righteousness,and of judgment."

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit toconvict men of sin. He is in theworld to testify of Jesus; He isspeaking to hearts who are unsaved.He is holy, sensitive, and personal.He can be grieved by constant rejec-tion. My mind goes to Exodus 10:3,where the Lord asked the question,"How long wilt thou refuse to hum-ble thyself before me?" If you areunsaved, He is asking you that ques-tion, dear friend. Some people wereraised in the church and have heardthe Gospel time and time again. Godhas been faithful to them year afteryear and revival after revival.

God has been faithful. Friend, ifyou are lost, you know that youneed to be saved. If you go to hell, itwill not be because God was notmerciful to you. How long will yourefuse to humble yourself? Howlong do you think God is going to let

you continue to harden your heartand resist the Holy Spirit? The timemay come when God will no longerdeal with you. He may give up. Thatwould be a fatal moment for yourprecious soul; then prayers and tearswould no longer avail.

Coming to a place where youare past feeling is possible if you arean unsaved person and the HolySpirit no longer speaks to you. Ifthat happens, the Father will nolonger listen to the prayers of yourloved ones who are praying for you.This would mean that you havecrossed the line. Friend, be notdeceived. God's patience can wearout.

In Romans, Chapter 1, we canread three times of the awful expres-sion that God gave ones up. Myprayer for you is that you will notreject the call of the Holy Spirit untilGod takes His Spirit away. Do notwait until your soul becomes deaf-ened to the tender call of God's Spir-it. How long are you going to triflewith the influences of His Spirit?

Satan's Master Plan

Another reason that men die intheir sins is due to the work ofSatan. I would like to say to both thesaved and the lost, Satan's masterplan is to cause every soul to go tohell. Dear one, the devil plans tocause you to go to hell, and he willuse all his satanic, cunning tricks tokeep you out of Heaven.

If you are unsaved, he has manycunning devices to keep you fromrepenting, to keep you from believ-ing, and to keep you from beingsaved. Satan has schemed and de-ceived and blinded the eyes of mil-lions of people from the Truth of theGospel. Satan has power to blind theunsaved and to keep them in thedark. Is that what happened to you,sinner friend? Has Satan blindedyour mind?

Second Corinthians 4:3-4 states:"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid tothem that are lost: In whom the godof this world hath blinded the mindsof them which believe not, lest the

light of the glorious gospel of Christ,who is the image of God, shouldshine unto them." Satan has de-ceived many people, and I believethat even the people to whom Jesuswas speaking in our Scripture texthad been deceived, because Christsaid, "Ye . . . shall die in your sins:whither I go, ye cannot come." It isdifficult to understand why intelli-gent human beings would want tobe one of the devil's children anylonger.

The devil is a poor provider.You cannot depend upon his wordbecause he was a liar from the be-ginning. You cannot trust the devil.His poison is sugarcoated, and allhis pleasures are only for a season.The devil cannot comfort your heartwhen it is broken. As Christians, ourhearts are broken, but we have Godwho can heal our broken hearts.Sometimes God comes right downand dries our tears, but the devil hasnever dried one tear. Sometimes asChristians we have heavy burdens,and God lifts our burdens, but thedevil has never lifted one burden,and he never will. He offers you nohope in death and no hope in the lifeto come. The devil's schemes maysound good, but he is just leadingyou down the road that leads todestruction. As one of God's preach-ers, I beg you to turn your back onthe devil today. I urge you, do notbe misled and deceived any longerby the devil to follow him. Listeningto him means being lost forever.

Jesus speaks of two great thingsin the Scripture text: death andHeaven. When He said, "Ye shall diein your sins," He spoke of death.When He said, "Whither I go, yecannot come," He spoke of Heaven.If death should come upon you be-fore He comes, how wonderful itwould be to die in peace and to havethe hope of Heaven. Dying as aChristian means dying in the Lord.Being absent from the body is beingpresent with the Lord. The thief onthe cross lived all his life in sin, buthe turned to Jesus before he diedand was wondrously saved. Weknow that because Jesus said to this


individual, "To day shalt thou bewith me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).You do not have to die in your sins.Christ made a way so that you canescape the damnation of hell.

The Uncertainty of Life

Last, but not least, people die insin because of sudden death. If theyhad time to think about death,perhaps they would have madedifferent choices, but death camesuddenly. The Bible speaks aboutthe uncertainty of life. In Ecclesias-tes 8:8 the ancient preacher Solomonsaid this about death: "There is noman that hath power over the spiritto retain the spirit; neither hath hepower in the day of death." Nopower on earth, no amount ofmoney, and no influence can pro-long life one breath longer than thewill of God dictates. Death enters allabodes. Every minute he is directinghis darts with unerring precision.We are living on the borders of thegrave, on the margins of eternity.Hebrews 9:27 reads: "And as it isappointed unto men once to die, butafter this the judgment."

Each of us has an appointmentwith death, and since God says "it isappointed unto men once to die,"then how unwise it is to takeneedless risk with your soul. Whichyear are you going to die? Whichmonth are you going to die? Whichweek or day will it be? Will youfinish out this month? This is some-thing that you do not know. Yourname could appear in the obituarycolumn tomorrow. The clothes inwhich you will be buried could behanging next on the rack. You maysay, "But I'm young." Your casketcould possibly be at a funeral homeright now. Your grave may beopened two or three days from rightnow.

First Samuel 20:3 says, "There isbut a step between me and death."One step is mighty close. Everyoneknows how short one step is andhow quickly one individual canmake one step! Friend, you are onlya few heartbeats from eternity. How

can you so proudly and arrogantlyact as though you are the captain ofyour own soul when every stepbrings you nearer to the grave? It isonly a matter of time until you willhave to bid farewell to every earthlytie. Death is slowly overtaking eachof us. Every heartbeat and every tickof the clock is bringing you nearer toeternity. The clock of life is woundonly once. No one has the power tosay when that hand is going to stop,at an early or a late hour.

Do you know what happens tomany folks? They die suddenly, andthey are ushered into the verypresence of God without advancewarning. If you are unprepared, youshould consider how near deathcould be. Death is nearly alwaysunwelcome. Death may come with alingering illness, or it may comewith the crash of an accident. Deathalways comes as an unwelcomeintruder to the unconverted. Everysinner who dies without God, if heis in his right mind, will see death asa glaring monster, unwelcome andunexpected. It may not be long untilthe undertaker is going to pumpyou full of embalming fluid.

Will You Wait UntilIt Is Too Late?

If God were to pull back thecurtain and let you see how closeyou really are to the coffin, no doubtyou would turn pale. Young people,middle-aged people, and olderpeople are going to have this year'sdate written on their tombstones.I say this reverently, but more liesare told in funeral services thanany other ceremony. Almost every-one who dies, whether the personis a drunkard or a drug addict,will be preached into Heaven; butthe condition of the soul at deathdetermines the destiny of the soul.A man will not die any better thanhe has lived. If you live as a sinner,that is the way you are going todie. A man who dies cannot comeback and make preparation foreternity.

How dangerous it is for a person

to defy God and gamble witheternity! No wonder God oftenpleads for the sinner to come withhaste and without delay. If you areunsaved, may God help you to cometo Him while the door of mercy isstill open. How quickly the deathsentence comes, but how long iseternity! Every sinner who dies willbe just as the rich man spoken of inLuke, Chapter 16. He will lift up hiseyes in hell. The human mindcannot fathom what an awfulawakening is awaiting the sinner onthe other side of death. Every sinnerwho closes his eyes in death lifts hiseyes in hell, just as the rich man,praying and weeping, but to noavail. There is a song that reads:

Oh, what is this that I cannot see,Whose icy hands take hold on me;

I am Death, none can excel;I open the door to Heaven and hell.

O Death, O Death, how can it be,

That I must go with thee!O Death, O Death, how can it beI'm unprepared for eternity.

Oh, yes, I've come for to get your soul,Take your body and leave it cold;I'll drop the flesh from off your frame;The earth and worms both have

their claim.

O Death, O Death, please let me seeIf Christ has turned His back on me.

When you were called and asked to bowYou wouldn't take heedAnd it's too late now.

O Death, O Death, please give me timeTo fix my heart and change my mindYour mind is fixedYour heart is bound

And I have the shackles to drag youdown.

Farewell, Farewell,

To all farewell,

My doom is fixed

I'm summoned to hell.

As long as God

In Heaven shall dwell,

My soul, my soul, shall scream in hell.


Who Can Doubt It?

Have you ever doubted God 's love for you or doubted that God is involved in yourlife on a daily basis? You can be reminded of God's omnipotence through thebeauty of a majestic sunset, the refreshing feel of cool, c lean water, and the dawnof a new day bringing with it new life . God connects us to the power of Hiscreation. He surrounds u s w ith its beauty , immerses us in the glory that themessage of nature brings forth, a message of hope and of peace. It stirs the soul toworship. Psalm 113:3 states , "From the ris ing of the sun unto the going down ofthe same the Lord's name is to be praised ." W ho can doubt God's sovereignty ina world so rich and fu ll of One who created it?

Selected

When Death with icy, coldfingers, frigid eyes, and pale cheeksenters the room to get to his victim,he never leaves without carrying outhis dark assignment. When Godsends the death angel after you, heis going to take you away. Doctorscannot keep him back, nurses cannotkeep him back, medical life supportmachines cannot keep him back.Every time the death angel comes toget a victim, he does not leave untilhe carries out his assignment.

I want you to think aboutyourself, whether you are young,middle-aged, or old. Imagine thatyou are on your deathbed, your faceis pale, and you are gasping forbreath, surrounded by weepingrelatives and friends. You realizethat a cold dew is making its waydown your feverish, scorched brow.You can begin to feel the death rattlein your throat as the doctor issummoned and declares your casehopeless. He lets your family knowthat you have but a short while tolive. You are lying in that position,and suddenly you will awaken tothe fact that all the faces of yourloved ones are beginning to fade.Everything in the room is fading

from your vision. It is like a dream.A moment ago you could hearpeople telling you, "I love you," buttheir voices are fading like thechime of evening bells.

Next, you will awaken to thefact that the room is filled withlegions of devils from the under-world, in plentiful gloom of theeternal night. It is settling in like apall, and you realize that you havelost the power of utterance. Yourtongue cleaves fast to the roof ofyour mouth. Suddenly there is astrange sensation that creeps overyour meager frame, and that dart ofdeath flies through your fadingheart. One sob, just one faint strug-gle, one long groan, and your spirittakes its flight to the great beyond.

One day Death will turn downthe street where you live. The un-dertaker will be called, and you willbe laid quietly in a coffin. Somedaythere will be another funeral at thechurch where you attended, but thistime you will be the one in the cas-ket. Your family and your lovedones will stand around the casketwith breathless awe, tear-bathedcheeks, and breaking hearts; but youwill be gone until the heavens fade

away and the Judge of all the earthshall come.

At last, the funeral hour willarrive, and a black hearse will moveslowly up to the door. Pallbearerswill carry out your lifeless form.(Dear one, you may not have timefor God now, but you will find timeto die.) Then the funeral processionwill march away to the lonely city ofthe dead. The grave will be opened,your body will be lowered into thecold bosom of the earth. There, youwill be sealed in a Christless coffinand lowered into a Christless grave.This is the consigning of the body tothe cold, dark grave.

Oh, sinner, dying without Godis the entrance into hell. Immedi-ately after you die, you will passinto that eternal world. Your destinywill be made known to you, becausedeath will seal your destiny. Willyou die without the Savior? Willyou lose your precious soul whenyou cross death's chilly river? Willyou miss yon brighter goal? Howlong will you refuse to humble your-self? Will you wait until it is toolate?

(Com pact Disc TR-214M)


Matthew 25:31 When the Son ofman shall come in his glory, and all theholy angels with him, then shall he situpon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gatheredall nations: and he shall separate themone from another, as a shepherd dividethhis sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on hisright hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say untothem on his right hand, Come, yeblessed of my Father, inherit thekingdom prepared for you from thefoundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungered, and yegave me meat: I was thirsty, and yegave me drink: I was a stranger, and yetook me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was

sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison,and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answerhim, saying, Lord, when saw we thee anhungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, andgave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger,and took thee in? or naked, and clothedthee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or inprison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer andsay unto them, Verily I say unto you,Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one ofthe least of these my brethren, ye havedone it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto themon the left hand, Depart from me, yecursed, into everlasting fire, preparedfor the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungered, and yegave me no meat: I was thirsty, and yegave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took menot in: naked, and ye clothed me not:sick, and in prison, and ye visited menot.

44 Then shall they also answer him,saying, Lord, when saw we thee anhungered, or athirst, or a stranger, ornaked, or sick, or in prison, and did notminister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them,saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuchas ye did it not to one of the least ofthese, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away intoeverlasting punishment: but therighteous into life eternal.

Brother Allen Polston

True Repentance

When Jesus said, "Come, yeblessed of my Father," in verse 34 ofour Scripture text, He was describ-ing the Christian, one who has givenhis heart to God, one who has held

back nothing, one who has surren-dered himself completely to Al-mighty God. In repentance he hasturned away from sin, placed hisfaith in Jesus Christ, and become apart of the great family of God. As Ithought about the act of repentance,

I thought about what Paul had tosay to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthi-ans 7:10-11 when he wrote: "Forgodly sorrow worketh repentance tosalvation not to be repented of: butthe sorrow of the world workethdeath. For behold this selfsame


thing, that ye sorrowed after a godlysort, what carefulness it wrought inyou, yea, what clearing of your-selves, yea, what indignation, yea,what fear, yea, what vehementdesire, yea, what zeal, yea, whatrevenge! In all things ye haveapproved yourselves to be clear inthis matter."

True repentance will cause somechanges to come about. It producesgodly qualities in your heart andlife. You will no longer be the sameperson. The lesson of our Scripturetext in Matthew defines what it re-ally means to be a child of God. Tomany people, being a Christian issimply a matter of attending churchservices occasionally and living afairly decent life. No doubt, youhave met religious people withmany different ideas concerningChristianity. Once I met a man in astore who was a faithful member ofa denominational church. When Iasked him how he was doing, hereplied, "Well, I'm very nervous, butI'm sober today." I thought, "My,how sad that is!" He was someonewho attended a mainstream denom-inational church faithfully, and thatwas his reply. That was not some-thing he said in humor. He wasserious. He is generally found at thelocal tavern.

There are many differenttheories and doctrines in the reli-gious world, but the Bible clearlyinforms us of what it really means tobe a genuine child of God. Somedenominations put emphasis ontithing and the giving of money asthe basis for accepting members.False religion has deceived manyindividuals into thinking that allthey have to do is join the church oftheir choice and put their time andefforts into it. However, God hasgiven us many passages of Scrip-ture, including the one in Matthew,to enlighten us concerning what Herequires of one to be a Christian.

A tremendous task is laid upontrue Gospel ministers in this dayand age to preach what it reallymeans to be a child of God. Why isthat? Almost everyone seems to

think he is a Christian no matterhow he lives. Many people are de-ceived. They have been duped intobelieving that they are all rightwhen they are still living in sin. Agreat responsibility rests upon God'strue ministry to reveal to people infalse religion that they are in a de-ceived state and to show them bythe Gospel how to become saved.That is what God is looking for. ByGod's Word, people need to see thatwhat they have been trusting in isvain. That is what has to happen, inmany cases, before people can reallybegin to receive help.

I want to point out what theBible is saying in our Scripture text.This study will help you to under-stand more thoroughly what itreally means to be a Christian and tobe called "ye blessed of my Father."We read about two different groupsof people: those who are blessed ofGod and those who are cursed ofGod. I am sure it is easy to decidewhich category you would rather bein. Our Scripture text reads in verse31, "When the Son of man shallcome in his glory, and all the holyangels with him, then shall he situpon the throne of his glory."

"Despised and Rejected of Men"

I want you to notice that thewords of our Scripture text areprinted in red in the Bible, whichshows that they are the words ofJesus Christ. He was speaking to Hisdisciples privately that day of a timethat was ahead of Him. We knowabout all the many mighty miraclesthat He performed while on thisearth. As we think of those things,we esteem Him very highly and feelvery indebted to Him. If you are achild of God, you will exalt Him.However, that was not exactly theway most people felt toward Himwhen He was walking on this earth.He was not exalted, glorified, orlifted up as He should have been.

John 1:11 says, "He came untohis own, and his own received himnot." Friend, He came to the Jews,whom He had brought all the way

from Abraham to that day. Al-though Jesus Christ came to them,they did not want anything to dowith Him. He was a disappointmentto them because they were lookingfor someone to come with pomp andsplendor.

The Prophet Isaiah prophesiedof the coming of Jesus Christ in morethan one instance. Isaiah 53:2-3states: "For he shall grow up beforehim as a tender plant, and as a rootout of a dry ground: he hath no formnor comeliness; and when we shallsee him, there is no beauty that weshould desire him. He is despisedand rejected of men; a man ofsorrows, and acquainted with grief:and we hid as it were our faces fromhim; he was despised, and weesteemed him not." That was whatJesus faced on this earth.

Jesus was a disappointment tothe Jewish nation because they werelooking for a Messiah who wouldcome and give them earthly powerthrough an earthly kingdom. Theywanted a literal establishmentwhere they could rule and reign andhave all the things that their fleshdesired to have. Contrariwise, Jesuscame as the lowly Lamb of God.This Man from Galilee did not liveup to their expectations.

Today we have the Bible thattells of all the wonderful things thatHe did—healing the sick, raising thedead to life, and all the miraculousworks of salvation. We think veryhighly of Him, but most people inthat day were not like-minded.When Jesus died on the Cross, everyone of the disciples forsook Him.They did not glorify Him or exaltHim as He really should have been.

Our Scripture text says in verse31, "When the Son of man shallcome in his glory. . . ." This verse letsus know that a time is coming whenJesus will be exalted. The Jewishpeople despised and rejected Himand hung Him on the Cross, but thetime is coming when every kneewill bow down to Him. After Jesuswas crucified and put in the grave,He arose and appeared to His disci-ples and others, and then He went


home to Heaven to sit on the righthand of the Father. Now Jesus co-mes to us by way of the Spirit ofGod.

The Coming of the Comforter

When Jesus was speaking to Hisdisciples before His crucifixion, Hesaid in John 16:2-16: "They shall putyou out of the synagogues: yea, thetime cometh, that whosoever killethyou will think that he doeth Godservice. And these things will theydo unto you, because they have notknown the Father, nor me. But thesethings have I told you, that when thetime shall come, ye may rememberthat I told you of them. And thesethings I said not unto you at thebeginning, because I was with you.

"But now I go my way to himthat sent me; and none of you askethme, Whither goest thou? But be-cause I have said these things untoyou, sorrow hath filled your heart.Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It isexpedient for you that I go away: forif I go not away, the Comforter willnot come unto you; but if I depart, Iwill send him unto you. And whenhe is come, he will reprove theworld of sin, and of righteousness,and of judgment: Of sin, becausethey believe not on me; Of righ-teousness, because I go to myFather, and ye see me no more; Ofjudgment, because the prince of thisworld is judged.

"I have yet many things to sayunto you, but ye cannot bear themnow. Howbeit when he, the Spirit oftruth, is come, he will guide youinto all truth: for he shall not speakof himself; but whatsoever he shallhear, that shall he speak: and he willshow you things to come. He shallglorify me: for he shall receive ofmine, and shall show it unto you.All things that the Father hath aremine: therefore said I, that he shalltake of mine, and shall show it untoyou. A little while, and ye shall notsee me: and again, a little while, andye shall see me, because I go to theFather."

Soon after Jesus' resurrection

from the grave, He was going to goto the Father, but He was going tosend the Comforter, or the HolySpirit. Through the Holy Ghost,people were going to see Him. Westill see Jesus through the Spirit ofGod, Who comes into our midstthrough the preaching of the Gospel.Through the moving of God, theSpirit of God comes into our midstand we get a revelation of Christ.We receive fresh understanding. Hespeaks to us through the Spirit ofTruth.

I want you to notice that Johnquoted Jesus in saying that "He shallglorify me." When the Spirit of Godcomes to you, what is He going todo? He will reveal the wonders ofJesus to you. Also, He will glorifyand lift up Christ. God's Spirit willnot stay around when compromisebegins to take hold in people's lives.When they toss out their modestclothing and start putting the fleshon display, the Spirit of God willexit their lives. God does not wantHis people to wear immodestclothes with the backs cut out andthe hemlines raised.

Friend, God wants to revealChrist to you. Why? That is the onlyway you can be saved; there is noother way. You cannot be saved bymerely going through the ordinanceof water baptism. You must be bornagain, and Jesus is the only way thatyou can be saved. He is the propitia-tion for your sins. He has all readymade the sacrifice, and all you haveto do is repent of the way you areliving and believe the Gospel.Friend, Jesus has made a way foryou to be saved and become a newcreature. It is really very simple.Nevertheless, the devil will try tomake it complicated in your mindand provide you with all kinds ofreasons concerning why you shouldnot follow the instructions in theScripture.

Each of us has things that we aregifted in, areas where God hascalled us to serve, whether it ispreaching, singing, praying, orwhatever. Some may be able to dothings better than others. You have

to watch that you do not begin topush forward in a desire to show off.If you do, you will be in direct con-flict with what the Spirit of God istrying to do. When He sees that kindof thing prevailing, He will depart.

The Holy Spirit Will TeachYou All Things

John 14:26 states, "But theComforter, which is the Holy Ghost,whom the Father will send in myname, he shall teach you all things,and bring all things to your remem-brance, whatsoever I have said untoyou." The Spirit of God, or theComforter, will bring to yourremembrance all the things thatJesus has said and all the thingsthat He has done. He will cause youto know that Jesus Christ is wonder-ful. The Spirit of God brings thatunderstanding, enlightenment, andknowledge of how awesome Christis!

We can see that the Son of Manhas come in His glory by the givingof the Spirit of God. When the Spiritof God came, His purpose was toexalt and glorify Jesus Christ, toshow men and women the Savior.Many people have Bibles, but justhaving the Scriptures alone withoutthe Spirit of God will not revealTruth to them. Some people read alot of Scriptures, but their spirits arenot right. You can see in their dailyliving that they do not have the Spir-it of God working within. When theSpirit of God is present and theScriptures are being declared, Hewill glorify and lift up Christ. Whenan individual has God's Spirit, hewill be concerned about lifting upChrist. The Spirit of God will comedown and challenge you by asking,"Is this thing that you are doingreally going to exalt Christ or is itgoing to exalt you?"

Again, our Scripture text says inverse 31, "When the Son of Manshall come in his glory, and all theholy angels with him. . . ." God hasangels other than heavenly beings.The Bible lets us know that theangels of God are His messengers,


or His ministry. God certainly doesnot have unholy messengers. Theyare holy messengers. God does notuse people who are not called intoHis ministry and who continue tolive in sin. First, they must be deliv-ered from their sins. They must havetheir sins washed away by the bloodof Jesus, and then He calls them toserve in different places in the bodyof Christ. God sets the members inplace according to His will.

In this Gospel dispensation theSpirit of God has been given andGod has holy messengers who aredeclaring His Word. God's messen-gers are not living in sin. Manypeople in the world claim to beministers, but many of them havebeen caught living in adultery, com-mitting fornication, and other sinfulacts. I repeat, God has holy messen-gers, and they get the Word fromGod and bring it to the people. Theyhave a calling from God.

Dividing the SheepFrom the Goats

Verse 32 of our Scripture textstates, "And before him shall begathered all nations: and he shallseparate them one from another, asa shepherd divideth his sheep fromthe goats." The anointed preachingof the Gospel has been going forthfor hundreds of years, and it does aseparating work. The preaching ofthe Truth still separates men andwomen yet today. When it isdeclared, what you do with it deter-mines which category you will endup in. When God's Word goes forthand the Gospel is declared, it sepa-rates those who are obedient fromthose who are rebellious. Those whoembrace Truth will measure to it.

We do not have to wait until theend of time to be divided. God isdividing people right in this day inwhich we are living. Every messagethat God sends down is sent to do adividing work. Thank God, you donot have to be put in the wronggroup. As long as you keep yourselfconsecrated to God and walk in thelight of His Word, you will not be

separated from Christ.First John 1:7 reads, "But if we

walk in the light, as he is in thelight, we have fellowship one withanother, and the blood of JesusChrist his Son cleanseth us from allsin." It is imperative that you walkin the light and keep your mindopen to the Word and the Spirit ofGod. We have to be careful. We areliving in a time of seducing spirits.The devil is working in many deceit-ful ways to allure God's people.Therefore, we have to keep our-selves open and subject to God'sWord and His Spirit. Preachers haveto do that as well.

Preachers have to stay open togreater light and understanding. Wehave to walk in what God has givenus, preach what He has given us,and teach what He has given us.Realizing that our ways are notGod's way is important. Many de-nominations in this world werefounded on some truths, but theyfailed to go any further. Maybe theyrallied around Martin Luther, JohnWesley, or another reformer of thepast, but they refused to go anyfurther. I repeat, we have to keepourselves open to God's Word andHis Spirit. A separation is takingplace. God is separating the goodfrom those who choose not to begood.

God's Love Abiding in the Heart

In this Scripture lesson we findthat Jesus tells of some activity thatHe commended. Our Scripture textsays in verses 35-40: "For I was anhungered, and ye gave me meat: Iwas thirsty, and ye gave me drink: Iwas a stranger, and ye took me in:Naked, and ye clothed me: I wassick, and ye visited me: I was inprison, and ye came unto me. Thenshall the righteous answer him,saying, Lord, when saw we thee anhungered, and fed thee? or thirsty,and gave thee drink? When saw wethee a stranger, and took thee in? ornaked, and clothed thee? Or whensaw we thee sick, or in prison, andcame unto thee? And the King shall

answer and say unto them, Verily Isay unto you, Inasmuch as ye havedone it unto one of the least of thesemy brethren, ye have done it untome."

Jesus was conveying somethingvery important in those verses ofScripture. You could ask yourself,"What would cause me to help andcomfort another, even the least de-sirable person, even if he or shecould never repay the favor?" Onlythe love of God in your heart wouldcause you to behave in such a way.If you have God's love abiding inyour heart, it will cause you to dogood for the least as well as for thegreatest. The love of God within anindividual constrains and inspireshim to do what he otherwise wouldnot do.

Loving those who love you iseasy. Sinners do that. Doing some-thing for someone in anticipation ofhis returning the favor is not diffi-cult. However, the love of God goesbeyond the human love that isshared between sinners. God's loveis far greater than pen can ever tell.God commended His love to useven while we were yet in anungodly state, while we were yetsinners.

God's love for us caused Him tosend His only begotten Son to die onthe Cross for us, and it goes farbeyond the love shared betweenpeople of this world. Those whopossess God's love and extend it toothers are pronounced, "Ye blessedof my Father."

You must love God to makeHeaven your home; it is a require-ment. Many people say: "I'm aChristian. I believe in God, and Ilove Him," but they fall short ofbeing able to line up with God'sWord. The question is, do you havethe love that Jesus spoke of in Mat-thew 25:35-36? He said: "For I wasan hungered, and ye gave me meat:I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:I was a stranger, and ye took me in:Naked, and ye clothed me: I wassick, and ye visited me: I was inprison, and ye came unto me."

When you think about Jesus, no


REASONS FOR GOING TO CHURCH

Some go to church to take a walk;

Some go to church to laugh and talk,

Some go there to meet a friend;

Some go there their time to spend;

Some go there to meet a lover;

Some go there a fault to cover;

Some go there for speculation;

Some go there for observation;

Some go there to doze and nod;

The wise go there to worship God.

doubt, you think: "Surely I do loveHim, and I have His love within me.I would do these things for Him."However, Jesus brought it down justa little closer. In essence, He said: "Ifyou are not doing these things forthe least around you, it is as if youare not doing it for Me." What Hewas trying to tell us in this lessonwas this: "If you do not have God'slove to give and to help the least,you do not have it in your heart."

Your having the love of God inyour heart is required, no matterwho the recipient is, even if the per-son is a stranger. You ought to bewilling to help no matter what theneed is. If someone is hungry orthirsty or needs visitation, the loveof God in your heart will promptyou to give, even to the least, as ifthe person were Jesus Christ Him-self. I am sure that you would bequick to say, "Certainly I would helpChrist. I would give Him whateverHe needs and assist Him in any waythat I could." Jesus is turning it rightback around and saying, "If youhave the proper love to help andassist Me and to love Me as youshould, then it will also cause you tolove even the least of these Mybrethren."

Having Greater Consecration

God has directed you in HisWord to examine yourself. We areliving in a time when people havebecome very self-centered. In mostcircles the things that they havegoing on for themselves is takingaway any ability, time, or talent togive to someone in need. They areembracing and engaging in so manythings in these last days of time thatthey have very little time. I readabout some older brethren, and itwas common for them to give upeverything they had to work in theGospel field. Often they would leavefamilies, homes, careers, and greatopportunities to labor fervently inthe work of God. Where are you inthis day and time?

God is still in need of vesselsthat He can really work through

who are willing to sacrifice morethan just the time and the resourcesthat it takes to attend revival ser-vices and weekly meetings. God stillneeds vessels who are willing tosacrifice their lives and really putthemselves on the altar and say,"Lord, here am I; send me." Godneeds young people who will makethat decision: "Lord, I will surrendermy life in a greater way. I could bethis or that, but I will give You mylife and let You do with it as Youplease."

Friend, God still needs peoplewho are willing to pour out theirhearts to Him and let Him havethem entirely for His work, sacrific-ing themselves so that He may callthem to various tasks in the work ofGod. He still needs those who arewilling to give themselves even forthe least, even for something thatwill not be all that well known orrecognized. Whatever part you do inthe work of God will cause you togain a reward if you are willing tolabor for the cause of Christ.

Friend, do you want to be in thatnumber considered to be the blessedof the Father? Part of the require-

ment is that you get the love of Godflowing in your life. It will causeyou to do things even for the least.You will want to help, even thosewho could never repay you. You canhave that kind of experience andlove. Thank God, you do not have tolive as the world does. They dothings only to receive something inreturn. You can have such a burninglove in your heart for God that itwill motivate you to be a livingsacrifice to build up the preciousChurch of God.

Do you have the kind of lovethat will cause you to sacrifice yourtime and your life, the kind of lovethat will send you out to the least tooffer help? God can help you to beconsecrated in this way. God'spower can help you to become thatkind of person. God would not putthis in His Word and make it animpossibility. Jesus paid the pricefor your sins. He was willing toconsider you and to die for you.Won't you consecrate your life toHim?

(Cassette C-4986E)


Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his mannerwas, went in unto them, and three sab-bath days reasoned with them out of thescriptures,

3 Opening and alleging, that Christmust needs have suffered, and risenagain from the dead; and that this Jesus,whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4 And some of them believed, andconsorted with Paul and Silas; and ofthe devout Greeks a great multitude,and of the chief women not a few.

5 But the Jews which believed not,moved with envy, took unto them cer-tain lewd fellows of the baser sort, andgathered a company, and set all the city

on an uproar, and assaulted the house ofJason, and sought to bring them out tothe people.

6 And when they found them not,they drew Jason and certain brethrenunto the rulers of the city, crying, Thesethat have turned the world upside downare come hither also.

Brother Calvin Foster

"Lewd Fellows of the Baser Sort"

I want to call your attention toverse 5, which talks about theselewd fellows. I want you to noticethat they were of the baser sort andhow they were called upon to comein and set the city on an uproar.These lewd fellows were men of lowmorals. Today we might call themloafers, or men who would be calledin to do the dirty work that someoneelse wants done. It is good to thinkabout this subject and teach it to ourchildren. We are living in a wicked

world, and the world is waxingworse and worse.

Mark recalled the time whenour Lord Jesus Christ was deliveredto be crucified, and Matthew alsomentioned it. Mark 15:6-7 reads:"Now at that feast he released untothem one prisoner, whomsoeverthey desired. And there was onenamed Barabbas, which lay boundwith them that had made insurrec-tion with him, who had committedmurder in the insurrection." Pilatelet the people decide between re-leasing Barabbas or Jesus. Barabbas

was in a revolt against Rome, and hehad committed murder.

Verses 8-11 continue: "And themultitude crying aloud began todesire him to do as he had ever doneunto them. But Pilate answeredthem, saying, Will ye that I releaseunto you the King of the Jews? Forhe knew that the chief priests haddelivered him for envy. But the chiefpriests moved the people, that heshould rather release Barabbas untothem."

Matthew recalled the samething. I want to call your attention to


the lewd fellows in Matthew 27:19-26: "When he was set down on thejudgment seat, his wife sent untohim, saying, Have thou nothing todo with that just man: for I havesuffered many things this day in adream because of him. But the chiefpriests and elders persuaded themultitude that they should askBarabbas, and destroy Jesus. Thegovernor answered and said untothem, Whether of the twain will yethat I release unto you? They said,Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them,What shall I do then with Jesuswhich is called Christ? They all sayunto him, Let him be crucified.

"And the governor said, Why,what evil hath he done? But theycried out the more, saying, Let himbe crucified. When Pilate saw thathe could prevail nothing, but thatrather a tumult was made, he tookwater, and washed his hands beforethe multitude, saying, I am innocentof the blood of this just person: seeye to it. Then answered all thepeople, and said, His blood be onus, and on our children. Then re-leased he Barabbas unto them: andwhen he had scourged Jesus, hedelivered him to be crucified."

Barabbas was a fanatical man.He belonged to the Jewish sectcalled the Zealots. They resisted theRoman rule in Palestine during thattime. Barabbas was a man who wascharged with murder, and they re-leased him instead of Jesus.Barabbas was a violent man whocaused trouble in the country. Jesushad done nothing but good. Hewent through the world healing thesick, restoring sight to the blind,feeding the hungry, and raising thedead.

Take Heed to Yourselfand to the Doctrine

Many people in the world todayare of the same character that theselewd fellows were. God does notwant anyone to be as they were.First Timothy 4:11-16 reads: "Thesethings command and teach. Let noman despise thy youth; but be thou

an example of the believers, inword, in conversation, in charity, inspirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come,give attendance to reading, to exhor-tation, to doctrine. Neglect not thegift that is in thee, which was giventhee by prophecy, with the laying onof the hands of the presbytery. Med-itate upon these things; give thyselfwholly to them; that thy profitingmay appear to all. Take heed untothyself, and unto the doctrine; con-tinue in them: for in doing this thoushalt both save thyself, and themthat hear thee."

Paul told Timothy to be anexample of the believers in wordand in conversation. The word con-versation can be interpreted "in yourlifestyle, the thoughts in your mind,the way you talk, or the way youcarry yourself." He admonishedTimothy to be an example of thebelievers in word, in conversation,in charity, in spirit, in faith, and inpurity. Also, he said to give atten-dance to reading, to exhortation, andto doctrine. We need to instill thesetruths and godly principles in youngmen and young women to keep thetruth marching on.

Young person, you need to dothese things, and by doing so, youcan encourage yourself in the Lord.You must give attendance to read-ing, to exhortation, and to doctrine.If you will do these things, you willbe the best that God would haveyou to be. A teenager is a personbetween the years of thirteen tonineteen, but an adult is a personwho has reached the age ofmaturity, as defined by law, whichis usually the age of eighteen, or forsome things, the age of twenty-one.

Once you are considered tobe an adult, you must accept fullresponsibility for your actions. Youcannot run to your parents to getyou out of trouble. You cannotblame your wrongdoing on the wayyou were raised, you cannot blameyour mother or your father, and you cannot blame the preacher. Anadult is one who has reachedthe legal age, and he or she shouldmake mature decisions. Eventually

a child's judgment should maturewith age.

As a young person, you shouldwant to be like Timothy. Paul toldTimothy to be an example of thebelievers. You should not be lazy orbe as a lewd fellow, just hangingaround. The word lazy means "to beresistant to work or exertion, condu-cive to idleness." Laziness and crafti-ness often work together. Some peo-ple roam around from church tochurch to try to get a free handoutand to try to take advantage ofsomebody.

As we study the Bible, we cansee that Adam and Eve were createdin an adult stage. They made a verybad decision when they disobeyedGod. They listened to Satan, andthey were put out of the Garden ofEden. It was a sad thing to be putout of the Garden of Eden, whichwas a place of rest, a place of peace,and a place where they enjoyedfellowship with God. You need totake these things seriously and trulylove God with all your heart and notjust say that you love Him. Youshould appreciate God. If you arenot careful, you, too, could leave theark of safety and lose your soul.

Acting Responsibly

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:11,"When I was a child, I spake as achild, I understood as a child, Ithought as a child: but when Ibecame a man, I put away childishthings." The time comes in life whenyou have to take responsibility foryour actions and be a man or awoman. It is true that a person'sjudgment matures with age andexperience. Sometimes a personreaches the age of maturity, but hedoes not act mature. He has come toan age of being legally responsible,but he does not act responsibly. Weare living in a time when responsi-bilities can crush you, but by thegrace of God, you do not have to becrushed. You can stay focused andstay close to God.

In the Old Testament you canread that Cain rose up and killed his


brother Abel. Genesis 4:8-12 states:"And Cain talked with Abel hisbrother: and it came to pass, whenthey were in the field, that Cain roseup against Abel his brother, andslew him. And the LORD said untoCain, Where is Abel thy brother?And he said, I know not: Am I mybrother's keeper? And he said, Whathast thou done? the voice of thybrother's blood crieth unto me fromthe ground. And now art thoucursed from the earth, which hathopened her mouth to receive thybrother's blood from thy hand;When thou tillest the ground, it shallnot henceforth yield unto thee herstrength; a fugitive and a vagabondshalt thou be in the earth."

What is a vagabond? A vagabondis a homeless person who movesfrom place to place aimlessly, justdrifting; irregular in course or be-havior, and very unpredictable. Wehave such people today. They try totrick you in many ways. They maygo to church and pretend to besaved and look pious and sweet.Some people go to as many localchurches around town as they can toask for handouts.

I heard about one lady in acollege town who would stop col-lege students in the parking lots andask for ten, fifteen, or twenty dollarsfrom them. Finally, she was warnedto stay away from there and told notto do that any more or she would bearrested. That is what we are facingtoday. Many people are vagabonds,moving around and drifting aim-lessly. A bum is a lazy person whoavoids work and tries to live offothers by begging and relying onthe generosity of others. God doesnot want anyone to be a bum.

I had quite an experience beforeI got married. I was dating theyoung lady who is now my wife,going to church, and doing the rightthing. One day I decided to take offwork. I told my wife, who was mygirlfriend then, that I was not goingto work that day. She asked me,"Did you call in?"

I said, "No, I didn't call in."She said, "What? You didn't call

in?" She made such an impressionon me that I have never done thatagain. She was looking out for herfuture. I was just a young man, andI had a lot to learn. Sister, if yourboyfriend does not want to worknow, do not fool yourself.

Consider the Ant

In the Book of Malachi you canread of the prophesy of John theBaptist's coming, how he was com-ing in the spirit and power of Elijah,and how he would turn the hearts ofthe fathers to the children and thehearts of the children to their fa-thers. One way to tell when abrother really gets saved is that hewill want to obey God and see howhis children are doing. He does notjust serve God to get blessed.

There are men sitting in jailright now because they did not paychild support. A godly man willstand up and face his responsibili-ties and be a man. You must takecare of your offspring and be agodly influence on them. John theBaptist came in the spirit and powerof Elijah, and his message was toturn the hearts of the fathers to thechildren and to get families straight-ened out.

Proverbs 6:6-9 reads: "Go to theant, thou sluggard; consider herways, and be wise: Which having noguide, overseer, or ruler, Providethher meat in the summer, and gather-eth her food in the harvest. Howlong wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?"How long are you going to stay inbed, brother, when you know youneed to be looking for work?"

Verses 9-11 say: "How long wiltthou sleep, O sluggard? when wiltthou arise out of thy sleep? Yet alittle sleep, a little slumber, a littlefolding of the hands to sleep: Soshall thy poverty come as one thattravelleth, and thy want as anarmed man." The ants are insectsthat live in organized communities.They are known as social insects.Ants are perhaps the most highlydeveloped social insect. The ant hasno ruler, or overseer, to drive it to

do what it does. It just goes out anddoes what it is supposed to do. Thatis what God is trying to get each ofus to do.

There are about ten thousanddifferent kinds of ants. In spite oftheir small size, ants are amazinglystrong. Most ants can lift objects tentimes heavier than their bodies, andsome can lift objects up to fifty timesheavier than their bodies. Have youever seen an ant carrying a piece ofbread? That ant will be strugglingwith a crumb of bread. Through thewriter of Proverbs, God said to go tothe ant and consider her ways andbe wise.

Everything that God has createdis doing what it is supposed to do,but man does not want to do whathe is supposed to do. God created usto serve Him. We are supposed toserve God; that is the reason wewere created. I thank God that whenwe serve Him, He does not overlookanything that we do.

Hebrews 6:10 states, "For God isnot unrighteous to forget your workand labour of love, which ye haveshowed toward his name, in that yehave ministered to the saints, and dominister." God will not forget yourlabor of love. Thank God for that.

Be an Example of the Believers

To be an example of the be-lievers, you should not have pride inthe evil sense of the word, having anoverly high opinion of yourself,being haughty, and looking downon other people. God does not wantyou to be that way. That is arro-gance. That kind of pride says, "I amso much more important than oth-ers." God does not want you to beboastful.

Now, there is nothing wrongwith having the proper respect foryourself, having a sense of dignityand believing that you are worthsomething in the eyes of God. Youshould have self-respect. When yougo out and do a job, you should do agood job and delight in the satisfac-tion of your achievements. Youshould always do your very best.


God has saved many people whowere once lewd fellows. Manyindividuals can look back upon theirlives and see where God hasbrought them from. They knowwhat it means to be lewd fellows,but thank God, He changed theirlives.

We are living in a time whenhigh morals and respect are fadingaway. Many people do not respecttheir pastor, the government, thelaws of the land, the authority of thelaw, or the law enforcement officers.As morals and respect are fading,the world is becoming more andmore wicked. Today many peopledo not care how they look or howclean they are. They do not care howwell they work or where they go.They just bum around. Many peopleare very irresponsible today. Godwants us to be an example of thebelievers.

I grew up with lewd fellows.After I was saved, I was highly hon-ored when the dean of the schoolhonored me on my graduation day.Before I was saved, I was expelledfrom the public schools; no publicschool would accept me. However,I was highly honored when I gotback in school and the dean of theschool said, "Calvin, I want you tolead the group in the Pledge of Alle-giance to the flag." That was down-town where all the people could see.I know what God can do! I learnedhow to be a godly husband and agodly father by sitting under theWord of God. What God has donefor others, He will do for you. Youjust need to stay around the Word ofGod.

I have worked with men whotook great pride in the fact that theyhad never missed a day of work in ayear. Today so many people areirresponsible. You cannot depend onthem. They want a job, but they misswork when they want to, they dressthe way they want to, and they arevery negligent.

Be the Best You Can Be for God

The moment you open your

mouth and say that you are a Chris-tian, you have to live up to some-thing. You ought to say: "I thankGod that I am a Christian. I am notlooking down on anybody, but I amthankful that I am saved. I am proudthat I quit smoking, quit drinking,quit lying, and quit stealing. By thegrace of God, I can gain back myself-respect." Now you can look inthe mirror and say, "Thank You,Lord, that I don't look the way Iused to look, that I don't dress theway I used to dress, and that I don'ttalk the way I used to talk. PraiseGod, I am saved!" You do not haveto go around those lewd fellowsanymore.

When I got saved, I would getmy Bible and go back to the oldneighborhood because I wanted myold friends to get saved so much. Iwanted to tell them what Jesus didfor me, and I wanted to get them togo to church. I did my best to talk tothem and preach to them. One timeI walked into an old friend's houseand he had marijuana all over thetable. My mother had all ready toldme to leave them alone. She said,"You have all ready talked to themand prayed for them, so leave themalone." With the table full of mari-juana, something happened at thedoor, and someone reached for apistol. Right then, my mother'swords came to my mind. I realizedthat, although I wanted to help themand try to get them out of that, andI did not want to be caught in themiddle of a shootout over drugs.

Young person, you had betterlisten to your parents. You maythink your parents are old-fashioned, but the same devil thatwas working then is still workingtoday. He is out to kill, to steal, andto destroy. He does not care any-thing about your being a prettyyoung lady or a nice, handsomeyoung man. The devil wants to messyou up.

You should not have a half-hearted attitude. You need to stay inschool, get your education, workhard, and try to use your talents forthe glory of God. You should not

put God out of your life. In what-ever you do, you should aim high. Ifyou are a janitor, you ought to bethe best janitor that you can possiblybe. If you are a painter, you shouldbe the best painter that you can pos-sibly be. If you are a carpenter, youought to be the best carpenter thatyou can be. You should go to workwith the attitude that you are goingto do your job well.

If you are married, you shouldbe the best wife or the best husbandthat you can possibly be. If you havechildren, you need to ask God tohelp you to be the best parent thatyou can be. As a Christian, youshould strive to be the best Christianon the face of the earth. I am notresponsible for how you treat me,but I am responsible for how I treatyou.

Let people go out and say whatthey want to say, but if they tell liesabout you, you know how you havebeen walking in the light. Now, ifyou have been cutting corners andlying, God knows it, and He willpull the covers off you. However, ifyou are really doing your best tolive for God, let them find fault, butdo not let it be true. People may runoff and say this and that, but God ischallenging you, whether young orold, to be an example to all people.

God's Challenge to You

Your life speaks volumes ofwords. When you work on the job,you can go to work with a Bible anda lot of tracts, but it is your life thatspeaks volumes to the people. Theymay never read the Bible, but theycan see how you live your life.

Have you ever read the Book ofJob? God did not ask Satan if he hadconsidered His written Word. Heasked if Satan had considered Hisservant Job. People may never readthe Bible, but they are watchingyour life if you claim to be a Chris-tian. One man at work was alwaystalking about God, but one day Iheard that he cursed the manager.That would not be right for a Chris-tian to do. One moment he was talk-


Should I Force My Children toGo to Sunday School?

You may ask, "Should I make my child go to Sunday school or church?" Yes! And with no further

discussion about the matter. Are you startled? Why?

How do you answer Junior when he comes to breakfast on Monday and announces to you that

he is not going to school anymore? You know Junior goes.

How do you answer when Junior comes in very much besmudged and says, "I'm not going to take

a bath." Junior bathes, doesn't he?

Why all this timidity then, in the realm of his spiritual guidance and growth? Are you going to let

him wait and decide what church he will go to when he is old enough? Quit your kidding! You did not

wait until you were old enough! You do not wait until he is old enough to decide whether he wants

to go to school to start his education. You do not wait until he is old enough to decide whether he

wishes to be clean or dirty, do you?

What shall we say when Junior announces that he does not like to go to Sunday school and

church? That is an easy one to answer. Just be consistent. You ought to tell him, "Junior, in our

house we all go to Sunday school and church, and that includes you." Your firmness and example

will furnish a bridge over which youthful rebellion may travel into rich and satisfying experiences in

personal religious living.

The parents of America can strike a telling blow against the forces that contribute to juvenile

delinquency if mothers and fathers will take their children to Sunday school and church regularly.

J. Edgar Hoover

ing about God, and the next minutehe was cursing the manager.

God is challenging you to live alife that is an example of the believ-ers. When the Word of God comesclose to your soul, you ought to havethe attitude of heart that you aregoing to improve yourself. Youshould not become angry at thepreacher. You need to improveyourself, get closer to God, and seekto be more like Christ.

First Corinthians 6:9-11 states:"Know ye not that the unrighteousshall not inherit the kingdom ofGod? Be not deceived: neither forni-cators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,nor effeminate, nor abusers of them-selves with mankind, Nor thieves,nor covetous, nor drunkards, norrevilers, nor extortioners, shall in-herit the kingdom of God. And such

were some of you: but ye arewashed, but ye are sanctified, but yeare justified in the name of the LordJesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

Lewd fellows want to live offyou. They want to start takingcontrol of your house. Some individ-uals do not mind living with others,but they can hardly get them toempty the garbage. They will staywith you, eat your food, and enjoythe warmth of your house, but theydo not want to lift a finger to helpwith anything. Do you see whatkind of world we are living in? Doyou see what is happening? Theyare living on the generosity of oth-ers, but they will not listen to theGospel. When God gets hold of aman or a woman, that person will-ingly does what is right. He or shedoes not mind working. Again,

verse 11 says, "And such were someof you: but ye are washed, but yeare sanctified, but ye are justified inthe name of the Lord Jesus, and bythe Spirit of our God."

Christ did not come to call therighteous to repentance, but Hecame to call sinners, lewd fellows.He came to save them. I was one ofthem, and He saved me. I thank Godfor that! In Matthew 9:12-13 Jesussaid: "They that be whole need not aphysician, but they that are sick. Butgo ye and learn what that meaneth,I will have mercy, and not sacrifice:for I am not come to call the righ-teous, but sinners to repentance."You need to confess your sins andturn away from them, because sinwill destroy you.

(Com pact Disc TR-467E)


� � � �

No matter how hard I try to describe an enthusi-astic, exciting personal testimony, I cannot avoid thefact that a life of sin, although pleasurable for aseason, causes one to reap long-lasting consequences.

I had a good Christian mother to guide me, butshe had to leave me to many of my own devices toenter the workplace after my father left. We lived inthe country, and my mother and I walked about twomiles to a small church three times a week. Occasion-ally, her cousin would give us a ride. Sometimes atraveling preacher would come through and hold two-week revival services, but generally the womendirected the affairs of the congregation.

God began speaking to my heart as a young boy. Ifelt the pull of the Holy Spirit and went to the altar toask God to forgive me for stealing some watermelons.He touched my heart, and I knew that I needed tomake restitution. I was able to pay the farmer, and hegranted forgiveness to me. I went away with a heavyburden lifted. I will never forget how good I felt, butI needed a godly man to look up to, to answer myquestions, and to be an example to me.

All around, even in our little congregation, Iobserved dishonesty, cheating, and lying. Soon Ibegan to hold contempt inside, which started me downthe road to rebellion. Before I was eighteen years ofage, I was consuming alcohol, using tobacco, cheating,and lying. I was openly committing these sins. Beingashamed of those who were avoiding military service,I boldly joined the Marine Corps, and as BrotherDecker has often described, I "hit the deck running"when I arrived in San Diego, California.

Since I was a small guy, I had to learn how not toget clobbered, and I lived a very wild life. I married ata young age, but that marriage failed because of sin.After struggling for many years, I began to desire tofind the Lord, who had beckoned to me years earlier.I obtained a camper and fled to the mountains ofArizona, trying to get away from the alcohol and themedical drugs that controlled me. During this time, I

endured the long hours of withdrawal as tremorswracked my body.

Whenever I experienced a moment of peace, I satoutside in the evenings and watched the magnificentsunsets. Although I did not have a personal relation-ship with God, I knew that only He could have madesomething so beautiful. I desired that unblemishedquality in my life. I was forty years of age by then. Idid not know much except that the way I was livingwould cause me to go to hell, so I asked God to keepme from going there. I know God saw the desire of myheart, and He protected me from numerous eventswhen I almost lost my life.

God started me back on a long journey to where Iturned myself in to the law and served time for thingsthat I had done in anger. I was allowed work release,but I returned to jail to spend my nights there. Uponmy release, I married and attended church with mywife and many of the people from my childhood.

The same background opinions and personalinterpretations permeated the services, which becamesessions of bickering and arguing, from the pew to thepulpit. I was ready to turn my back on anythingspiritual, but I believe that God saw my need forsalvation and sent an army of brethren from theChurch of God, men who lived what they preached.

To this very day, I thank God for each one of themwho took an interest in me and my need of salvation.I became very close to some of these dear saints andstarted making changes in my life. I had an awfullylot of crooked tracks to straighten out, and it tooksome time to take care of those things that I couldcorrect.

One restitution that encouraged me to press oninvolved a county sheriff who owned a store where Ihad transacted business. I had hated that man andhad stolen from his store. I assumed that he hadretired or was no longer alive. However, I decided tomake an attempt, and then I would be relieved ofrestoration. When I knocked on the door of his house,an elderly woman answered and said that he was outback at the picnic table. He was a big man, and I wasconcerned about how he would react to my confessionand what would result from it. When I approachedhim, he looked up. So I told him what I had done andheld out some money. He stood up, and with tearsrolling down his cheeks, he replied, "Nobody has evercome to me for something like that." When he reachedfor the money, he put his arm around me and said,"Son, if you ever need anything, would you pleasecome to me?" When he called me "son," I crumbledand thanked him. I loved being called "son" by thatbig man! Since my salvation, I now have a HeavenlyFather, and I am called His son.

When Brother Ira Amburgey, one of the Church ofGod ministers who worked with me spiritually, wentto Kentucky to pastor, we knew we needed to be

"Let the redeemed of theLORD say so."

Psalm 107:2


Canby, OR CAMP MEETING: Church of God, 522 NW 2 Avenue, Canby, OR 97013nd

August 16-22 Service times: 10:30 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. The first service begins Monday morning

at 10:30 a.m. We welcome everyone to come and worship the Lord with us!

To make lodging reservations contact Brother David Stegmeier by calling the

telephone number listed below. Please make reservations in advance, if possible.

For further information contact: Pastor E. David Stegmeier, 552 NW 2 Avenue,nd

Canby, OR 97013. Telephone: 503-266-9297

Medina, OH LABOR DAY MEETING: Church of God, 6745 Wooster Pike, Medina, OH 44256

September 5 Service times: 10:00 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.

A meal will be served by the local congregation.

For further information contact: Pastor Daniel Webster, 92 W. Main St.,

Seville, OH 44273

Telephone: (Home) 330-435-6490 or (Church) 330-725-5993

Newton, KS REVIVAL: Church of God, 400 N. Meridian, Newton, KS 67114September 13-19 Evangelist: Brother Irwin Sesher, Heath, Ohio

Service times: Monday-Saturday 7:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m. & 7:00 p.m.For further information contact: Pastor Sandy Killfoil, 415 SE 6 St., th

Newton KS 67114 Telephone: (Home) 316-842-5127; (Church) 316-283-1830

2010 Camp Meetings at God's Acres

August 1-8

(See page 27 for information concerning the above meeting)

December 26-29

where the Truth of God's Word was preached. We putour house up for sale, and it sold quickly. Then, withGod's direction we found the perfect place to live,which was close to the Church of God, God's Acres, inNewark, Ohio, where I could reestablish my businessand be a part of the wonderful Church of God. Herewe have a pastor who is standing on the wall andwatching over us. Here I can live a happy life and bea good example to my children and grandchildren.

You may not have many years to waste in sin. Sowhen the devil tries to entice you to stray from God,you ought to run for your life. I love the Lord, andliving for Him is the best thing that has everhappened to me.

Brother Ralph Town

The Shady Dozen

"I heard . . . "

"They say . . . "

"Everybody says . . . "

"Have you heard . . . "

"Did you hear . . . "

"Isn't it awful . . . "

"People say . . . "

"Did you ever . . . "

"Somebody said . . . "

"Would you think . . . "

"Don't say I told you . . . "

"Oh, I think it is perfectly terrible . . . "

26 GospelTrum peter.com • August 2010

Spring 2010 Camp Meeting Recording ListRecrd. No. Date Message Title Minister

TR-625 6-20-10 Instilling an Appreciation of Our Heritage in

the Hearts and Minds of Our Children Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-626 How Is Your Relationship With God? Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-627 6-21-10 The Blueprint for the Destruction of a

Congregation: Schism Bro. Daniel Webster

TR-628 Christian Ethics, Part 1: Our Standard Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-629 The Condition of the Heart Bro. Roger L. Decker

TR-630 6-22-10 The Miracle of Salvation Bro. Leamon Whitehead

TR-631 Christian Ethics, Part 2: The Golden Rule Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-632 This Is the Day of Good News Bro. Calvin Foster

TR-633 6-23-10 The Movies Bro. Allen Polston

TR-634 Christian Ethics, Part 3: Your Innate Desire Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-635 The Family of God Bro. David Watson

TR-636 6-24-10 Discernment Bro. Earl R. Borders

TR-637 Christian Ethics, Part 4: Character and Accountability Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-638 The Rescue Business Bro. Calvin Foster

TR-639 6-25-10 Take Heed, Lest You Fall Bro. Paul Prinkey

TR-640 Christian Ethics, Part 5: Compromising Ethical Principles Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-641 What Will the Verdict Be? Bro. Larry Dishman

TR-642 6-26-10 Shackled and Unshackled Bro. Charles Ferguson

TR-643 Christian Ethics, Part 6: Maintaining Moral Excellence Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-644 How Can You Get From the Broadway to the Highway

Of Holiness Bro. Larry Dishman

TR-645 6-27-10 The Joy and Grief of a Pastor Bro. Richard Talbot

TR-646 Christian Ethics, Part 7: Stay Focused Bro. E. David Stegmeier

TR-647 The Difference Between "Can't" and "Don't Want To" Bro. Larry Dishman

TM-224 2010 Spring Camp Meeting Songs #1







2010 Spring Camp Meeting Choir Songs # 1 (1 CD) & Choir Songs # 2 (1 CD)

2010 All the Morning Spring Camp Meeting Messages in MP3 Format (1 CD)

2010 All the Evening Spring Camp Meeting Messages in MP3 Format (1 CD)

2010 All the Afternoon Teaching Messages & Youth Services in MP3 Format (1 CD)

2010 All the Songs for the Spring Camp Meeting in MP3 Format (1 CD)

All messages and music recordings are available only on regular CD's or MP3 format. The suggested donation for regular CD's is $3.00 each.

The suggested donation for MP3's is $10.00 each. The postage is $3.00 for one CD or MP3 and $0 .35 for each additional. Recordings may

be ordered by writing The Gospel Trumpeter, Tape Ministry, 675 N. Cedar St., Newark, Ohio 43055, or by calling (740) 366-1009, Brother

James York. If no answer, call (740) 345-1312, the Print Shop. Make check or money order in U.S. funds payable to The Gospel Trumpeter.

G o sp e lT r u m p e te r .c o m • A ug ust 2010 27

M EALS reasonably priced (full-tim e evangelists and pastors [with spouses] half-price).

LODG ING free-will offering basis. Heated dormitories available. Bring your own bedding,

if possible. NO PET S.

Nam e_____________________________________________________________________

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Send Reservations to: Dav id L . Bush C all 740-345-1213

725 N. Cedar St. for reservations

Newark, OH 43055

to attend the

Fall Camp MeetingAugust 1-8Three Services Daily

10:00 a .m . 3 :00 p .m . 7:00 p .m .

The first service begins at 10:00 a .m . on Sunday.

Holy Ghost Preaching } Inspirational SingingChildren's Services } Divine Healing

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